Posted By Dave Isaac On September 28, 2012 @ 3:38 pm In Uncategorized | No Comments

Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux pauses while speaking during a media availability at their hockey practice facility Thursday, May 10, 2012 in Voorhees, N.J. The Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference semifinals. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Most of the Flyers who were hanging around the area to rent out their own practice facility during the lockout have left.

Scott Hartnell is back in Western Canada. Ilya Bryzgalov went to Moscow to play in the KHL. Jake Voracek also took a KHL offer.

Claude Giroux never made the trip back to Philadelphia. He saw the lockout coming and elected to remain in Ontario, skate with some locked out Ottawa Senators, play a little softball and stay in shape. But the Flyers’ leading scorer last year needs a little more.

“I’m a little bored here just working out and want to go back to playing in games and just having that rush of playing in a hockey game.

“I mean, when you have to get used to doing nothing, it’s not really fun.

“This summer’s getting to be a little too long right now.”

The wait might be over soon for Giroux, who had 28 goals and 65 assists in 77 games last season. Reports surfaced Friday morning that the superstar may be close to signing with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, but Giroux’s agent tells the Courier-Post that he is “having discussions with many different teams at this point.”

While it seems as though nothing is imminent for the Flyers’ best player, he’s clearly getting the itch to play competitively. Reports have surfaced that he wasn’t initially interested in playing in Russia, but the lack of developments in CBA negotiations suggest the lockout could continue well into the season. On Thursday the NHL formally cancelled October’s preseason games and, according to reports, the first regular season games could be cancelled soon as well.